Shadow of a Girl
by RyukoVulpix
Summary: In her final moments, Maria remembers her life and dreams... and how her best friend changed them forever.
1. A Past of Happiness

**Shadow of a Girl**

**Chapter One:**

**A Past of Happiness**

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"_Maria!"_

It's coming... I can't stop it...

"_Maria!!"_

I can feel the shot pierce my skin...

... it hurts...

"_MARIA!!"_

Shadow... no... stay back...

... I'm afraid... there's nothing you can do...

... I'm sorry... my friend...

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As he dashes towards me, I push him back.

His own momentum causes him to stumble. He scrambles to his feet...

... but not fast enough.

I clutch the side of the control panels and hit the button that will save his life...

In a flash, the escape pod closes, with him inside...

He slams his fists against the glass walls, staring at me with shining eyes, full of tears...

_Please... please Shadow, don't be sad... _ _don't be angry... _

My strength is leaving my body... I start to collapse against the panels...

... and still, he stares at me with huge eyes...

"_Maria... "_

He looks so sad... so innocent... so alone...

... exactly like how I met him...

... and I see a flood of my memories...

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When I was first born, the doctors didn't expect me to live...

... I was weak... and the medical technology at that time was not very advanced...

But my grandfather had gotten a request from the president for research, just a little bit earlier...

... he had turned it down... for it was asking for a study of immortality...

... he didn't believe that it was man's place to seek eternal life...

... but that same research held an opportunity...

_... to cure me... _

My grandfather had already built and launched a space colony, named ARK. It had previously been used for space research, and had given him the reputation of the greatest scientific mind of his time...

My weakness caused me to be susceptible to disease... even something as small as a cold could possibly kill me...

Grandpa knew this. So he cleared everyone off of ARK and sterilized it completely. My family and I, along with some of his most trusted staff, were moved into space, where I would be safe from the many germs that inhabited Earth.

Grandpa began to experiment and research, trying to find a way to create a cure. He knew that my disease was genetic, so he began researching biotechnology...

... which led to his pursuit of creating an organism...

... a perfect one...

... the Ultimate Life Form.

For the first few months, he pored over books and his science, trying to get a good start...

... but nothing.

His problem was that he couldn't find a source of energy for these creatures.

An unlimited energy source, to power these life forms through eternity... that was what he needed.

... finally, a staff member found an old legend in a book...

... of beautiful gems, called Chaos Emeralds.

Supposedly, they contained a power that had been burning for thousands of years. The legend that went with them was that they had once powered a great water monster that had wiped out an entire civilization...

Such power... my grandfather finally located one and began to use it for research.

It was true. The Emeralds generated their own power, from somewhere deep inside them...

And Grandpa's project truly began.

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The research was named, Project Shadow, and the quest for the Ultimate Life Form commenced.

The first problem that Grandpa encountered was to find a creature that the Ultimate Life Form could be based from. To create an entire creature from scratch was going to take too long... I was already two by the time he reached this point.

Grandpa decided to start with a creature that had survived for ages: a lizard. I didn't like lizards... I wanted something furry. But Grandpa had chosen a lizard, and the project was underway.

I would watch through the windows at my Grandpa working away, and I never stopped being amazed at his work. In only a year, he had completed the first major prototype of an Ultimate Life Form. He called it the Biolizard. "Bio" meant life... and he hoped it would give me a chance for a new one.

But the big reptile scared me; as time passed, it grew bigger and bigger, and it always reacted badly to Chaos Energy. It would roar loudly, and my grandpa would be worried that it couldn't survive at its size. He solved the problem by building it a machine that would transform Chaos Energy into energy that it could more readily use.

Life started to be more quiet... and lonely. Even Grandpa didn't have much time to spend with me, because he was working on something new; he didn't think that lizards were quite what he needed, and he was looking for some other animal.

At my age, I started to feel alone. I was all by myself on ARK, because I didn't have any brothers or sisters, or even any cousins to play with. I had to play by myself, so I made a game out of hiding in the labs, then surprising the staff that would come in.

But more often, I would stand by a window to the outside, and look at the Earth...

... it was beautiful.

Sometimes, a staff member would come sit near me and show me what all the different things were.

The oceans... the land... a thunderstorm...

... but most of all, I wanted to see the people.

The staff told me about huge cities, and some would even talk about their home towns. "Station Square" was one. They said that it wasn't very big yet, but it was growing. They told me about all the tall buildings that almost seemed to reach the sky, and so were called "skyscrapers." I wondered what "trees" really looked like, and what a "field" or "playground" was. Grandpa often went back to Earth for supplies, and he brought me back picture books.

I would sit by the window and read them and stare at the sights. In the books, the view always seemed so wonderful... the sun, the grass, everything... even the moon seemed more pretty from Earth than from the window of the space colony.

Grandpa would always bring me some nice present from an Earth store. Of course, everything had to be sterilized first, but after that, I was free to do what I wanted with them. My favorite presents were always wax roses... I loved how the petals were perfectly preserved in the wax, and how they would probably last forever... I kept them in a vase, that Grandpa brought from Earth, in my room...

I would lie on my bed, stare at the flowers, sitting in the small, crystal vase on the wooden nightstand, and dream of flowers, real, fresh flowers, all in a huge "field", as far as I could see...

But the one thing that I really wanted, that Grandpa couldn't buy in a store and bring back to ARK... was a friend...

One day, when I was seven, I saw Grandpa leave his big lab, for some coffee. I smiled, then went inside, hoping to surprise him when he came back.

The lab was big, with a white floor, white ceiling, and a shining metal table, slightly taller than I was, and it was very bright. I was under the table, trying to decide if it was a good place to hide, when I heard something move. I jumped, thinking that Grandpa might have come back already. Then I listened carefully, and heard something small breathing.

I backed out from under the table. I looked up, and saw a small face staring back at me, looking out from the edge of the table. Startled, I fell backwards and yelped.

The small thing squeaked, and scrambled back to where it had been sitting. Curious, I pulled a stool to the edge of the table and climbed up on it.

The small thing was round and fuzzy. It had soft, black fur with red stripes down its head, arms, and legs, and had soft spikes on the back of its head and on its back. Its big, pointed ears twitched nervously, and its big, round, bright eyes stared at me. It had a small patch of long, white fur on its chest, and it was sitting up cautiously.

I started to reach towards it, to pet its fur, but it squeaked and rolled into a tight ball, its spikes on the outside. It trembled in fear.

"Don't worry... I won't hurt you," I said quietly, kneeling on the stool with my arms leaning on the table. I sat there silently, waiting for it to uncurl...

Which it did in a few minutes. It slowly peeked its eyes out from its fur, and I could see its red irises, studying me. Little by little, it unrolled its chubby little body, and lay on its stomach, with its head turned to one side, looking at me.

I reached over and started to pet its head. It flinched at first, but eventually relaxed. I started to scratch behind its ears, like how one of the staff members had said they used to pet their cat. The fuzzy thing on the table murmured happily and rolled over. I tickled its tummy and it giggled.

Just then, Grandpa walked in!

"Maria!" he said. "What are you doing here?"

I sat on the stool properly and said, "I came in here to surprise you when you got back... I didn't mean to mess around with anything!"

The fuzzy thing started to complain in some sort of baby talk, wanting me to pet it some more. Grandpa and I looked at it, and he started to laugh.

"Well! I suppose he's taken a liking to you," Grandpa said, walking over to the fuzzy thing and putting a baby's bottle in its mouth. It started sucking and started getting drowsy. It yawned and fell asleep.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a hedgehog," he replied. "He's the next step in Project Shadow!"

"Does he have a name?" I asked.

"Well, he's got an ID number... "

"No, a _name!"_

"Well... no."

"Can I give him a name?"

"Er... I suppose... " Grandpa seemed kind of worried.

I didn't pay much attention to his mood. I started thinking of a name for the black and red hedgehog.

"Let's see... " I pondered. "Umm... Grandpa? Your experiment is called 'Project Shadow,' right?" He nodded. "Let's call him Shadow, because his fur's black. And, he's Project Shadow, right?"

Grandpa nodded. I smiled. I reached out and touched Shadow's head. He moved slightly and curled up tighter.

_Finally... my days of loneliness were over... _

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As Shadow grew bigger over the next few weeks, the two of us grew closer together. But, for some reason, this started to worry Grandpa...

But with a new playmate, nothing really seemed to stop Shadow or me from enjoying life to the best of our ability.

Once he could toddle around, the two of us continued to play the game of hiding, then jumping out to surprise the staff members. They would always jump in surprise, laugh, then send us on our way, saying, "There goes Maria and her little Shadow... "

Which, after a while, he started to become. He'd follow me everywhere...

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However...

One day, when Shadow was about ten months old, Grandpa came to me when I was walking with Shadow down the hallway. He took me by the hand and we walked to his main lab, Shadow tagging along behind us.

When we reached the door, Grandpa turned to Shadow and asked, gently, "Can I talk to Maria for a few minutes?"

Shadow stared at Grandpa with big eyes. He nodded slowly, since he couldn't quite talk yet.

Grandpa looked at Shadow with soft eyes, then took me into his lab and shut the door.

When we got in, I asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Grandpa sighed and sat me down in a chair. He paused, then said, "Maria... I can't keep this from you any longer...

"You're a big girl now, and I think you can understand now... You see... well... let me put it this way. Maria... all things die, eventually... "

I nodded, not knowing where this was leading.

"And... well... The thing about Shadow is that... " He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "In the past, I've worked with many experiments, but the biggest test that they all must take is to be exposed to Chaos Energy in its pure state.

"Unfortunately... many of the experiments have, well... passed on... due to an overload."

My throat tightened. "But what about... "

He sighed. "Maria... I didn't want you to become this attached to him at first... I didn't think you would become such good friends... "

I jumped up. "No!" I shouted angrily. "You can't do that to him! You can't... !" I sat down, crying.

Grandpa walked slowly to me, and patted my shoulder. "Maria--"

I yelled, "Why can't you just do your test to something else?!" I ran out the door.

Shadow had been staring at it the whole time. As I burst out, I tripped over him and fell to the ground, crying.

"Shadow... " I cried, hugging him as if I would never let go.

Grandpa came out of his lab. He sat down and hugged me.

"Maria... listen. It hurts me, too, when they have to leave...

But I have a theory... I think that Shadow would be able to pull through the test."

I wiped my eyes and nose on my sleeve. "H... how do you know... ?"

He looked at the two of us gently. "Well... several reasons, most of them having to do with science... But also, because, he loves you, and has something to live for... What do you say? I'll be easy on him... this first test is just to get him used to it."

I swallowed. "I... can I be there too?"

He smiled. "Yes... of course."

I smiled back at him through my tears. Shadow looked at both of us, our conversation passing through one ear and out the next.

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As I sat there in the lab, holding Shadow on my lap, I hoped that everything would go smoothly...

_But, when I grew older and could understand more, I discovered that Grandpa actually knew what he was talking about... _

_Shadow was the last in a long line of bio-engineered hedgehogs. The most recent experiments had actually survived the exposures to Chaos Energy, for quite a while, but had unfortunately passed away because of the Chaos Energy temporarily weakening their bodies._

_Shadow had been born with a more powerful body, more powerful than any other hedgehog before him. In fact, the only creature that could possibly rival him in possible strength was Biolizard itself... _

_I even learned that Grandpa had many pieces of medical equipment, including a life-support system, that would be able to save Shadow if something went wrong._

_At heart, Grandpa was a kind person... but he was willing to do anything in the name of science to cure me._

_When I discovered this, I felt guilt-stricken... _

_I went to a lab that had been abandoned once the bigger lab was built... I made a small shrine there to all of the creatures that had died... because of me. I left some of my flowers there, for their spirits... and I felt better... Shadow would always watch, and then leave his gifts... most of the time, food. We would burn incense that Grandpa got for us, then leave the room quietly._

_I know now that Grandpa felt terrible about having to continue his almost-finished project, even if it meant conducting experiments on Shadow. But, as I was to learn, to create another hedgehog with the same strength as Shadow would have taken maybe another year... And, he really had trust in Shadow's abilities and will to live._

_But now, we had to see if Shadow would be okay... _

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I watched Shadow as Grandpa attached all sorts of wires to him. Then, he put Shadow into a glass chamber.

In another glass container, a green Chaos Emerald was glowing slightly, emitting a warm light. Grandpa connected the two chambers, then held my hand as he turned a dial on a control panel.

The green Emerald began to shine more fiercely, and the light bathed the whole lab in a strange, green glow. The energy traveled through the wires to Shadow, where it engulfed him in pure energy...

Shadow's fur started to prickle, and he shivered. But after a few seconds, he sighed, smiled, and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the Chaos Energy.

Grandpa left the machine going for a few minutes longer. Then he turned it off.

"Is it over... ?" I asked, quietly.

"Yes, it's over, and he passed with flying colors," Grandpa said happily. He lifted Shadow out of the machine. "See, he even fell asleep... "

Shadow was snoring loudly. Grandpa and I looked at each other, and laughed.

"Do you think... he's _the_ Project Shadow?" I asked.

"I don't doubt it," Grandpa said. "I think... I think he's the key I've been searching for... I think he'll be able to cure you, Maria!"

But, even if he would eventually cure my disease... I didn't need it anymore.

I had a friend.

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Of course, as Shadow grew bigger, the tests became more rigorous... but always, he'd always come out of it just fine, if not better.

But when he was about three years old, and I was almost eleven... that was the year that would really begin to tear everything down...

_... the final test... the maximum trial of Chaos Energy... _

_... the one that the others had failed at... _

But Grandpa had faith.

And so did I.

Even at his age, Shadow was still like a little child... he didn't say much of anything, and he still followed me nearly everywhere...

... so, together, we walked into the lab...

Grandpa placed Shadow into the Chaos Energy machine, then attached all the wires, just like all the times before...

Then, he slid the dial all the way up, higher than ever before...

As I thought back to that first time, I realized exactly how far up the level of Chaos Energy had gone. Over the past three years, he'd inched it up, little by little, getting Shadow used to the high dosage of energy...

... and now, it would finally have to pay off...

The Emerald burned with a bright light, and Shadow was completely engulfed in the energy.

For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes. Shadow had his eyes screwed up tight, crying out in fear and pain.

Grandpa stared in shock at the computer that showed Shadow's energy levels. He adjusted his glasses and stared even harder.

"Grandpa! Shadow's scared! Get him out of there!" I screamed.

"Wait... wait... !" Grandpa shushed me. His eyes turned to Shadow, where they widened. I turned too, and gasped again.

Shadow was staring back at us... _but his fur had changed!_

His fur was flashing from black and red to a metallic silver-gold and red. He was no longer yelling, but looking at us with a deep gaze...

He smiled, then laughed. He started to make faces at me through the glass, smushing his nose against it. He laughed again.

I had to laugh, too.

Grandpa shook his head in amusement at the two of us, then proceeded to shut down the machine...

... for the last time.

Shadow's fur dimmed down to his previous black and red. He sighed loudly, then slumped down against the side of the glass container.

I was worried for a few seconds, before Grandpa said, "It's nothing... he's just a little tired from having such a big power source removed from him."

Such a big power for such a little boy...

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Now that Shadow was free of these tests, we spent more and more time together.

One day, after searching around ARK for him, I found him staring out a window at Earth.

I walked slowly to the window. We were in the small, abandoned lab.

He was leaning on the windowsill, on his elbows, his hands propping his face up towards the glass. He studied the planet below us for some time before turning to me.

"Maria?" he asked me. "Maria" was the only word he knew.

"That's Earth," I said to him, pointing at the blue sphere floating below us.

"Urf," he said. I giggled at his mispronounciation.

"Silly! Earth," I said, drawing the word out.

"Urf!" Shadow jumped down from the window and ran to the panel that controlled the escape capsules.

"Shadow! Don't!" I ran after him and pulled him away before he could send himself to Earth.

He sat on the ground, bewildered. I laughed at his expression. He began to laugh along with me.

We stood up and walked back to the window.

"Shadow, I promise you... someday we'll go to Earth, okay?"

"Urf, oh-kay?"

I laughed.

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Those were good times.

But everything wonderful...

... must, someday, come to an end...


	2. Look to the Future

**Shadow of a Girl**

**Chapter Two:**

**Look to the Future**

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"Maria!"

I heard Shadow's voice from somewhere down the hall.

It was the strangest thing... the last time I'd seen Shadow was the day before... he was never gone for that long... an hour or two at most...

"Mariaaa!" Shadow called again.

"Shadow? Where are you?" I stepped lightly down the hallway, when a distraught heap of black fur flew into me.

"Mariaaaa!" he whimpered, lying on my lap. He was crying.

"Shadow? Where'd he go?" I heard Grandpa come stumping down the hallway. He came across us, me sitting where I'd fallen, Shadow wailing, huddled against me.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked.

Grandpa sighed. "I was hoping that he wouldn't react this badly..." he murmured.

"To what?"

"I... well, I conducted a new experiment on him, Maria," Grandpa said, almost apologetically.

"... what kind of experiment?"

"Well... genetic engineering. I was trying to give him a new gene that would enhance his body..."

"What?!" I gently slid Shadow off of me and stood up. "Grandpa, tell me before you do these things!"

Grandpa sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't think..."

Shadow clung to my legs, still sniffling a little. "Grampa scary..." he squeaked out, having learned to talk a little bit better.

"Did I scare you? I'm sorry, Shadow," Grandpa said, kneeling down to Shadow's height. The little hedgehog darted around behind me and hid.

"Well... I'll just take Shadow back to my room, I guess," I said, holding his small hand in mine. "Come on, Shadow! I got a new book!"

"Grampa scary!!" He repeated, then pulled his little face into a frown.

"Don't you want me to read to you?" I asked, trying to get him to calm down.

"Maria nice," he said, smiling and taking my hand, pulling me towards my room.

I heard Grandpa sigh and walk off in the opposite direction. _'Just as well,'_ I thought. _'Maybe we should let Shadow have some time to cool off...'_

Little did I know that Shadow would, quite literally, have all the time in the world.

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When we got to my room, I looked on my bookshelf for the new book that Grandpa had brought for me from Earth. "Here it is, Shadow," I said, pulling it out from between a book of nursery rhymes and a picture book. "Black Beauty. It's about a horse, and he's got black fur, just like you!" I showed him the cover. "Doesn't it sound good?" I wasn't really sure if he'd actually understand everything I read to him, since it was a pretty hard book, but it was better than him staying upset.

"Come here, Shadow," I said, sitting down on my bed. Shadow stopped staring out of the window and sat down next to me.

"This book is about a horse, and he lives in--"

"Shadow immorduh."

"... what?" I wondered what he was saying.

"Shadow immorduh!" he repeated, apparently still quite upset.

"Shadow what?"

"Shadow immorduh!!" he said, sounding annoyed. "Immorduh, immorduh, immorduh!"

"Wait, slow down, what are you saying?"

"Sha... dow... im... mor... duh!" he said, frowning.

"'Immoral'? Is that what you said?" That didn't make any sense.

"Nooo!" he laughed. "Immorduh!"

"Immorduh? What's that?"

"Shadow dunno."

'_Im... mor... duh... immorda... immor... ta...? Wait...'_

"You mean 'immortal'?" I asked, still not believing him.

"Hee! Yeah," he said, touching the book. "Maria read!"

"Who told you that you were immortal?" I asked, wondering if he'd just heard the word somewhere, maybe from the scientists talking about the Biolizard. It was supposed to be immortal...

"Grampa. Grampa scary. Maria read!" he repeated.

I thought, _'Grandpa said that Shadow was immortal?!'_

"Are you making up stories?" I asked him, skeptically.

"No! Grampa say, 'Grampa make Shadow immorduh.' Maria read!"

I slipped off the bed and stood up. "I'm going to go talk to Grandpa..." I said. "I'll read to you when I get back." I walked out the door.

Shadow stood up on my bed and pouted. "Maria read!!" he said loudly, then picked up the book and followed me.

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"Grandpa!!" I called, opening the dor to his lab.

"Oh, Maria, what brings you here? I thought you were going to read to Shadow?"

"Grandpa? Shadow told me that you told him that he's immortal," I said.

"Oh... yes... well... you see, Maria..." Grandpa took a deep breath. "That's what I was trying to experiment with. I was trying to give him genes that would give him immortality. It's part of Project Shadow."

"Grandpa..." I said, my mouth open. "You mean... Shadow's never going to...?"

Grandpa stood up from his desk and walked to me. He pulled me into a hug and said, "Maria, sweetie, listen. No matter how close you and Shadow are, you must remember that he is still part of Project Shadow. And the goal of Project Shadow is to find the genes that will cure your disease. Shadow is an important part of the project."

"Maria read!" Shadow said. Apparently, I hadn't closed the door all the way and he'd let himself in.

Grandpa laughed at him. "Maria, listen. I didn't do much of anything to him. I inserted a certain gene into his genetic code, but I'll have to wait a while to see if anything happens. Listen..." He picked Shadow up. "No matter what happens to the little one, he's still the same Shadow. I'll tell you now, and get it over with... but... these experiments might make Shadow grow up a little faster. But he'll still be the same person on the inside. Nothing I do will change that."

"Grandpa..." I said, knowing that his heart was in the right place.

"Grampa lemme go! Maria read!" Shadow said, squirming.

"Haha... okay, down you go," Grandpa said, gently lowering Shadow to the ground. "I think he wants you to read to him," he said to me.

"Okay..." I said, feeling better. "Come on, Shadow, I'll read you that book."

"No! Don't wanna read this book! Wanna read nurshery rhymes!" he said, handing me the book. I laughed.

"Shadow..."

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But... Grandpa was right. Shadow did grow up.

He timed it so that the genes would activate just when Shadow was growing out of babyhood.

I still don't know exactly what Grandpa did to him... but Shadow became different. I could tell.

Maybe part of it was just that he was growing up. Maybe part of it was because his genetic code was altered. Maybe...

I guess... I was growing up too. I stopped reading about Earth in my picture books and started watching it... watching the real thing...

"Maria?" I turned to see Shadow, standing besides me. He wasn't like a little baby of two or three anymore, but more like a kid of seven or eight... taller, quieter, curious about his world...

"Hi, Shadow." I smiled. "Come, let's look at Earth."

Shadow stepped lightly to the window, his hover-skates that Grandpa had built for him a few months ago clinking on the floor. "Wow... it's pretty," he said, looking at it, never having lost his awe at the blue sphere below us.

"Mmm... I want to go there someday," I murmured, dreaming of what life was like there..."

Shadow turned and looked at me suddenly. "Maria... don't go. You're going to get sick..."

I looked at him reassuringly. "Oh, I mean when I'm cured! Grandpa's close... I know it..." I smiled.

Shadow smiled too. When I was happy, he was happy. "Grandpa said that he's really close. He said that I'm the best thing that could happen for you."

"You are, Shadow... you are."

A few moments of silence passed between us. I sighed quietly, thinking about Shadow... remembering how he was... immortal... how he'd never...

...

I remembered back, when I'd been so worried for his life, when he was just a little baby...

Of course, he didn't remember anything from that long ago... it was a little misty for me, too.

My thoughts were interrupted by Shadow's voice.

"Maria? What are we going to do when we get to Earth?"

I thought. "Well... I guess we'll go see the whole world!"

"But haven't we already seen the whole thing?" Shadow looked at the planet, watching it go by us.

"No... not up close. And that," I said, "is the only way to see something so big..."

Shadow was silent for a few minutes. Then, a little shakily, he asked me...

"Maria...? You're not... you're not gonna let me get lost... will you?"

I laughed. "No. You won't get lost."

"... okay..." He was quiet a little longer.

Then, out of the blue, he asked me something that I'd never thought about before.

"... I'm... I'm 'immortal'... right? Is... is that... a... a bad thing...?" He looked at me, almost like he was crying.

"What? No, no..." I knelt down to his height. "What gave you that idea?"

He sniffled. "I heard some people talking... with Gra-- the professor" - he said, correcting himself... he felt that 'professor' was a big, smart word - "they said I was immortal. They said that... that..." He looked at the floor sadly.

"Shadow, no... it's not..." I stopped too.

"But, if I never die... are you immortal too?" he asked, almost hopefully.

I had to think about how I was going to say this. "... well... no. I'm not."

Shadow's eyes widened, and he looked at his shoes.

"But... if I'm gonna be immortal... why can't you?"

I inwardly sighed, not knowing what to say. "... that's just not... I'm... I..."

"I don't wanna live forever!" he wailed, suddenly hugging me around my middle. "I don't wanna live forever if you can't too!"

"Shadow... listen!" I pushed him away gently.

"Listen... don't worry. Don't worry about the future. We've both got our whole lives ahead of us. Make the most of it." He sniffled. I continued, "Okay... maybe you will live longer than me... but if you do..." I tried to smile. "If you do... then you can watch over my whole family. Forever..."

"... forever...?"

I nodded.

He buried his face in my stomach. "I don't want to live forever."

I suddenly felt torn. Grandpa's project, searching for immortality... but now that he was so close, his "project" didn't want to be immortal...

"Shadow... please. Just don't think about it," I said, almost crying myself.

"I want to stay with you... I don't want to go to Earth. I don't want to get lost. I don't want to live forever... I don't care," he said. "I don't want to be Project Shadow anymore..."

"No... you're not just Project Shadow. You're my friend," I said, pushing him away softly again. "You're my best friend. And, as my best friend, I want you to promise me something." He looked at me.

"I want us to go to Earth. I want to help everyone on Earth as long as I can. I want to help Earth," I said, telling him my wishes.

"Can you help me?" Shadow blinked, then nodded slowly.

"But I still don't want to live forever."

I sighed.

"Just don't think about it, Shadow... just enjoy life, no matter how long it is."

Then, I told him something that I'd heard a long time ago...

"'How you were born doesn't matter... it is what you do with the gift of life that makes you who you are.'"

"What does that mean?"

"I guess... I guess it means that, it doesn't matter how you were born, but it's what you do with your life that makes it all worth it."

"I'm going to live a long time, I guess," Shadow said, thinking out loud. "So I guess I'm going to do good things, to make life worth living."

He paused, then continued. "I guess... I guess I could take care of your family..."

I was surprised by this sudden show of maturity. The moment was interrupted by Shadow's stomach growling.

He grinned at me, cheerfully. "I want lunch! Let's go get lunch!"

I laughed. Shadow always made me laugh.

I was fourteen.

Shadow was six.

But...

He was growing up.

.

.

.

It wasn't easy for him.

He had sudden growth spurts, and his mind was often confused, as if he was stuck between childhood and adolescence.

Often, I wondered why Grandpa had even caused these changes in him.

Then I remembered that it was for my benefit.

Shadow now stood almost at his full height of three feet, three inches. I was about five feet tall.

Shadow's mind was growing just as rapidly as his body.

It was two years later.

I was sixteen.

But no one was sure exactly how old Shadow was anymore.

Chronologically, he shouldn't have been older than eight.

But physically and mentally, he was about my age, or older.

However, the ordeal was nearly over for him. The genes that Grandpa had given him were starting to wear off, as his natural growth was starting to take effect.

In all other ways, Shadow was like a normal person. His personality was becoming quite defined. Quiet, serious, but still caring at heart.

Life on ARK was an everyday thing for us. It was our home: that was where we lived.

Our dreams, of reaching Earth: we still held them in our hearts.

Everything was perfect. Our space colony was our home, heaven.

We didn't want anything to change.

But... it did.

Somehow, the military base called G.U.N., back on Earth, was receiving information about Project Shadow.

The Biolizard. The Prototype of the Ultimate Life Form.

It was true. After all of these years, I'd hardly paid any attention to it. Shadow and I spent most of our time in a different part of the colony.

But it was still there. And it still wasn't completed.

Shadow almost was.

The Biolizard needed to be contained nearly all the time. It was dangerous, apparently... but Grandpa had gotten so far, he hated to have to waste a life.

Of course... Shadow and I had no idea of what was going on, between ARK and G.U.N., the Biolizard and Project Shadow.

Until that day.

That last day... the day that Shadow was completed.

.

.

.

Shadow was staying in the lab, overnight.

Grandpa had smiled at the two of us, saying, "This won't hurt you a bit, Shadow. I just need to take a small sample of your DNA. And then," his eyes sparkled at me, "our little Maria will finally be cured."

Shadow and I smiled joyfully at each other.

We were so close. We could almost touch that reality.

We were going to Earth.

Shadow waved good-bye to me briefly, then followed Grandpa to the lab. I decided to go back to the abandoned lab. I wanted to take another look at Earth, that planet which was so close to me now.

Just a few hours. Just a few hours, and everything would become even more perfect than before.

I could live on Earth. I would be able to stay there, breathe the air, see the sights, hear the sounds... to be able to live on Earth...

I felt so happy. My throat started to tighten.

I sat by the window, staring at the empty space beyond.

Suddenly... it struck me.

"Grandpa... Shadow... thank you..."

Without Shadow... and Grandpa... I'd never have this chance.

"Thank you so much..."

Thank you, Shadow... you gave me so much happiness in those past years.

Thank you, Grandpa... you kept working away, searching for a cure... just for me...

... thank you, both of you...

I decided to return to Grandpa's lab. They should be about done by now... it was a little before noon, just about time for lunch.

As I rounded the corner to Grandpa's lab, a piercing noise suddenly filled the air and red lights began to flash.

Grandpa dashed out of the door. "Maria!" he shouted over the din.

"Grandpa?! What's going on?" I yelled, frightened. Nothing like this had ever happened before...

"Those horrid..." I heard Grandpa mutter. He looked around worriedly. "Where is Shadow?"

"I don't know! I thought he was with you!" I said, close to tears. "What's happening?!"

"It's that wretched G.U.N..." he said, looking around. "They're... they're trying to shut down Project Shadow... but I never thought that they'd take it this far..."

"Why? What?"

"They're trying to force us to give it up," Grandpa growled.

What?! No! Not when we were so close...

Suddenly, Shadow dashed towards us. "Professor!! Maria!! What's going on?!"

Grandpa gritted his teeth and looked down the hallways nervously. "Maria, listen very carefully to me! I want you to go up to one of the labs, find an escape capsule, any capsule, and leave ARK. You must get out of here!"

"Grandpa..." I cried. What was going to happen to us?

Grandpa gave us some hurried instructions. "Maria, I'll meet you when you reach Earth... as long as the capsules don't malfunction, you should arrive there safe and sound... Stay in the capsule until I come to you... And don't worry about landing in the ocean," he added. "All the capsules have a homing device that will bring it to the government headquarters." He added to Shadow, "Keep her safe."

Shadow nodded. I knew he would. He grabbed my hand, and we headed back up the hallway that I'd just left, towards the abandoned lab. There were escape capsules there.

As we left, I heard Grandpa's voice...

... for the last time.

"I love you, Maria! Take care, both of you!"

Now alone, Shadow and I ran as fast as we could down the hallway. Neither one of us was very strong.

Then, we heard them...

... that rogue military group...

... G.U.N.

Their footsteps thudded down the halls. It sounded like they were wearing huge, heavy boots...

My soft slippers skimmed against the hard floor. Shadow's hover-skates echoed against the walls. I could tell that he was debating whether to activate them or not...

"Don't let them escape!"

"Maria..." Shadow said, almost panting for breath.

"I'll be okay," I said, not wanting to worry him. He looked at me worriedly, then continued. My feet barely touched the floor as he tried to pull me a little faster...

There. There. We were there.

The huge door to the abandoned lab. It was there, we were almost there...

The door almost flew open at Shadow's touch. He was terrified... I felt it through his gloved hand.

"Stop or we'll shoot!"

I summoned up my last bits of energy and ran to the control panels. I tried desperately to bring a capsule to us...

... there. It was right there...

... but I was too late.

They got me.

.

.

.

_The sea needs the wind, and the morning needs the sun  
In the same way, we all need something too  
What you need is someone  
Who will always be by your side_

.

.

.

"NO!!"

I looked up, just in time to see Shadow, starting towards me...

No... no, I couldn't pull him down with me...

"Maria!!"

Shadow! No! Stay back!

I held my hand up, trying to catch enough breath to speak...

"No... Shadow..."

.

.

.

_A forest needs water, and the night needs the light  
In the same way, we all need something too  
Someone who will pray whole-heartedly  
That your life will be saved_

.

.

.

He stopped. I saw him look at me, unable to do anything except listen to me.

He was just close enough... just close enough...

I reached out... and pushed him backwards.

Whatever it was, his confusion or his anguish, he'd let his guard down enough that he stumbled backwards, right...

... there...

I hit the button.

I shut the capsule.

He was in it.

.

.

.

_No matter how long and far a road stretches  
We'll always get through  
But sometimes as you're walking, you pause  
And wonder if your dreams are still burning so bright_

.

.

.

"What..." For a second, Shadow's eyes, blind to anything but me, stared at this glass prison. Then they unglazed.

He looked at me, terrified, alone.

"Maria..."

Please... forgive me, old friend.

His fists slammed against the glass, too overcome by his agony to have much impact.

"MARIA!!"

.

.

.

_Don't be afraid, don't lose your courage  
You're not alone  
Always together, we'll chase stars  
That even now are shining_

.

.

.

I look at his sad face, scared... even more scared than I remember, from the first time I met him.

I don't cry. I just... can't.

I know. My life is just about over.

But I don't feel scared.

I have to do this. I have to save him.

I can see how much pain I'm causing him... how much sorrow...

... but I can't pull him down with me.

I can't let him die here.

Shadow...

"Shadow, I beg of you, please do it for me... for a better future! For all the people who live on that planet... give them a chance to be happy..."

Don't be angry with them, Shadow... they're not all bad people...

"Maria..." I heard Shadow say, dumbfounded.

No, Shadow... don't lose your hope. No...

.

.

.

_Even if the future is a whirlpool of hatred  
That wants to pull us under  
We won't lose our hearts  
That always believe in forgiveness_

.

.

.

"Let them live for their dreams. Shadow, I know you can do it. That's the reason you were brought into this world."

Just like me, Shadow. You were born to save me.

Let those people on Earth have chances to lead happier lives. Who knows... maybe there are people down there... with the same disease that I had...

He stood limply, knowing that... this was...

... goodbye...

"Sayonara... Shadow... the Hedgehog..."

.

.

.

_The sea needs the wind, and the morning needs the sun  
In the same way, we all need something too  
What you need is someone  
Who will always be by your side_

.

.

.

I touch the controls again.

Shadow disappeared.

As the world around me grows dimmer, a fleeting thought comes to me.

I hope you can hear me...

.

.

.

_No matter how long and far a slope stretches  
You can always climb it  
But sometimes as you're walking, you pause  
And wonder if your dreams are still burning so bright_

.

.

.

Good-bye... old friend...

Please... and remember...

Remember, Shadow...

For as long as you live...

_I will always love you._

Don't forget...

.

.

.

_Even if we become lost in a world where fighting never stops  
We'll never forget our hearts  
That always believe in love and understanding_

.

.

.

_Fin_


End file.
